Blood Moon rewrite
by kinigget
Summary: borrowed with permission from Quetzelcoatls, and then modified to within an inch of it's life. Hellsing has been getting strange reports out of Japan about dead bodies showing with no signs of trauma. This seems to be the sort of thing they were created to deal with, so Integra sends Seras to go investigate. What could possibly go wrong? rated T for Hellsing
1. Chapter 1

many thanks to Quetzelcoatls for allowing me to resurrect this story for him

now

you will notice some changes

for instance I decided that there was no logical reason why Integra would order Seras destroyed outside of plot convenience, and while this means I'm going to have to wing it in places, the result should make me much happier

also: I'm setting this during the 30 years between the end of the manga and the epilogue simply because there aren't nearly enough stories out there like that and it's my story now so there

so no, Alucard will not be showing up, apologies to anyone who was looking forward to that in the original story, but again, my story now

as for how much of Bleach this is going to cover and how many recent spoilers it will contain?

well

I never watched past the beginning of the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc and have never read the manga

I just know a lot of spoilers anyway

 _so_

I'm just gonna stick with anime canon and see how far this gets

probably to the end of the Winter War

well, that's enough of that

On with the show!

Edit: I realized that I screwed a few things up, and also that I really actually wanted to have my chapters mirror the original as much as possible

what this means for you all is that this chapter is going to actually include Seras and Isshin's conversation, plus a bit more

* * *

Seras stepped off the plane, immensely thankful that she no longer had to be shipped like cargo in her coffin to cross oceans.

suppressing a yawn, she mentally reviewed the task at hand: Hellsing had received word of a series of strange unexplained deaths in and around the town of Karakura in Japan. Bodies found with no signs of trauma, but were nonetheless dead. Given that Seras had (admittedly distant) family in the area, it seemed only natural that she be the one sent out to investigate.

Of course, said family hadn't learned of her death, which had the potential to be problematic. On the upside it meant that she could announce her arrival over the phone without startling the Kurosaki household too badly, but on the other hand it meant that she was going to have to remember how to act human

Ah well, she'd figure something out when she got there

anyway, there were more immediate concerns: her coffin itself _did_ still count as cargo, so she was taking pains to conceal it in a nondescript wooden crate. Even if she didn't exactly _need_ it the way she used to, it still helped a lot

fortunately, language wasn't going to be a problem. It had been years, but she still had a rudimentary grasp of Japanese from the last time she'd been in the country, though that would probably improve with her first meal

speaking of which, how _was_ she going to feed herself? She knew the Kurosaki's ran a clinic, but that ran into her old hangup of taking blood that was meant to save lives, and besides, she figured they kept track of their stock. She could always go for the old standby of "wander back alleys until someone tries something and then eat them", but then she had discovered that she was a bit of a picky eater. She'd really rather not have the souls of people she despised running around inside her if she could help it, besides, it wouldn't be fair to Pip.

well

another problem that could be resolved later, when she was actually hungry

* * *

Isshin Kurosaki was concerned

he'd been tracking a strange reishi signal all day

a reishi signal that was approaching his house

a reishi signal that was approaching his _at the same time as his distant niece was supposed to be arriving_

this was, put simply, a problem

whether it was the sort of problem that required a zanpakuto to deal with was uncertain, but he wasn't discounting the possibility

he would do whatever he had to to protect his children, even if it meant blowing his cover

he just hoped it wouldn't come to that

the signal arrived

and then, against all logic, the doorbell rang

now rather more curious than uneasy, Isshin decided that opening the door probably wasn't the worst thing he could do in this situation

he wasn't entirely sure what expected to see on the other side, but the busty blonde girl with an unnervingly toothy grin was decidedly not it

"Hello! sorry for showing up on short notice like that, it's been a long time hasn't it?"

Isshin stared for a moment as his brain caught up to the fact that it did indeed appear to be one Seras Victoria standing before him, despite the fact that last he'd heard, Seras was _human._

"yeah no kidding, what are you?"

Seras' face collapsed

"wha...? how did you know?"

"just answer the question"

"well...um...this may sound a bit ridiculous, but I'm a vampire"

Isshin simply continued to stare

"a vampire"

"that's what I said, please don't make me prove it"

"no, no, it's just...vampires are real?"

"I was just as surprised when I found out believe you me, granted, _I_ found out when Dracula himself shot me in the chest and then drank my blood"

" _Dracula's_ real?"

"and until I drink his blood, he is my master, yes"

"...you'd better come in"

* * *

"so let me get this straight, you were turned by Dracula himself, who now goes by the name of Alucard and serves the Hellsing organization, which then recruited you to hunt _other_ vampires?"

Seras managed not to roll her eyes.

"for the last time _yes_ , and the Zeppelin Incident _was_ in fact the work of Nazi vampires, and I helped my master put an end to it, though at great cost"

Isshin managed to look sheepish.

"sorry, it's just...this is a whole new kind of weird for me"

"imagine how _I_ felt"

"right, so how much of the myth is true?"

Seras started ticking off items on her fingers.

"well, garlic does nothing to me, but silver, especially blessed silver, burns like a hot poker, I can withstand the light of the sun, but I really don't like it and it does weaken me, I had to sleep in a coffin for half a year, and it still helps me maintain my power, I once saw my master come back from being _decapitated_ , but then he had millions of souls within him at the time, and I only have the one"

Isshin startled, _this_ was alarming to say the least.

"wait, back up, did you say souls? _within_ him?"

Seras looked at him quizzically

"yes, when a vampire drinks the blood of a living human, they absorb that person's soul into their own being to increase their power" Seras noticed that Isshin had gone slightly pale at this "is something wrong?"

Isshin's mind was racing, he was _definitely_ going to need to have a talk with Urahara about this.

but he had more pressing concerns at this moment, like finding out just how dangerous his niece had become.

"no, nothing, never mind, anyway, you said you only had the one, care to explain?"

sensing the question behind the question, simply answered "he was already dying and gave me his blood willingly. I have never actively hunted humans, and see no reason to do so so long as I have access to medical blood"

this seemed to reassure Isshin somewhat, though he still looked guarded

"so then why are you here?"

now it was Seras' turn to look guarded.

"I don't know how much I can say beyond the fact that I'm on a mission. I honestly shouldn't even have told you about Hellsing, we are supposed to be a secret organization after all"

"I suppose I can't argue with that. Well then, I suppose you can have the guest room on the north wall, it gets the least sun"

Seras grinned at him, inadvertently showing off her fangs again

"thank you, this means a lot"

"just go get your coffin"

* * *

the next morning, Isshin watched suspiciously as Seras introduced herself to the twins, it was no surprise they didn't know her, given that they'd both been babies the last time she'd been around. So far she seemed to be acting normal, if somewhat sleepy. She was also noticeably (to Isshin) attempting to stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible.

well

she only had about ten more minutes before the girls left for school, he figured she'd be fine

hearing the telltale sounds of Ichigo coming down the stairs, Isshin grinned silently to himself, maneuvered into an ambush position, waited for the opportune moment, then launched himself at the stairwell with a yell

all he got for his trouble was a foot to the face

Ichigo proceeded to ignore his father's profuse compliments on his form and timing

then he noticed Seras, and blinked in confusion

"who the hell are you?"

Seras, for her part, looked hurt

"I'm your cousin Seras, don't you remember?

Ichigo frowned, thinking. Now that he thought about it, he _did_ remember something about a distant cousin living in England, but the last time he'd seen her was ten years ago

"oh yeah, I guess I do"

"It's nice to see you again after all these years, I hope you don't mind, but I'll be staying here for a while"

"what for?"

"She's on a secret mission from her government!" supplied Yuzu excitedly

"somehow I doubt that" Karin replied lazily, more focused on pushing her cereal around her bowl with a spoon

"Sometimes you'll find that truth is far stranger than fiction" seras said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later tonight okay? My plane got in really late last night, so I'm going back to bed for awhile". The others nodded their assent and she left them to finishing their breakfast. She may have been far more powerful now than she was as a freshly-turned fledgling, but she still had a hard time staying up for long after the sun had risen and she was rapidly approaching her limit. Upon reaching her room, she headed immediately for the closet where her coffin was being kept and climbed in, sighing with relief when the lid clicked shut and blocked the sunlight. She was going to make damn sure that she never reached the point of starvation around those girls, it wasn't like back home where the only people she had to worry about hurting were soldiers who _would_ shoot her if she tried anything. Fortunately, Isshin had agreed to give her access to the clinic's supply of medical blood, just so long as she didn't deplete his stock too much and stuck to the packs that were nearing expiration.

20 minutes later, Isshin was sending Ichigo off to school. He snuck a glance at the room Seras was staying in. She had warned him that waking a sleeping vampire was a tough job at best, and a dangerous undertaking at worst. However, this did give him the chance he needed to go talk to one of his few friends in the living world.

If anyone could tell him what the hell he was dealing with, it was Kisuke Urahara

* * *

Kisuke wondered what it said about him that the story Isshin was telling him was not the weirdest thing he'd ever heard of. Still, this was one of the better ones. "are you _sure_ it's actually your niece and not something imitating her?" he asked as he poured the tea. Isshin shook his head morosely, "Yes, I'm sure, and that's the problem. She talked about absorbing souls Kisuke, doesn't that sound suspicious to you?"

"while I'll grant you that it is unsettling, she said she came here for a mission right? She was probably hoping that she could get here, do whatever it is she's doing, and then leave before you noticed anything about her. I certainly don't believe that she means you any harm"

Isshin nodded, sipping his tea

"I suppose you have a point"

"this could save you a lot of trouble you know" said Kisuke, snapping his fan for emphasis

Isshin frowned at him

"how? and with what?"

those seals I placed on Ichigo aren't going to last forever you know, he's simply becoming too strong. Your little vampire may be able to keep him out of trouble"

Isshin considered this

"that may be, but how exactly am I supposed to ask her to protect him from Hollows without giving away my _own_ secret?

Kisuke just smiled from behind his fan

"you _did_ say her Reiatsu was strong, if unusual, sooner or later a Hollow is going to notice her, let her find out on her own" he suggested cheerfully

"that might not be the best idea you know" Isshin responded drily

"you can't deny that it would work. How powerful would you say she is?"

"right now? somewhere around that of a tenth seat, but she hasn't been a vampire for long, and true power takes time"

"well then I'm sure she'll be fine!"

"you're impossible, you know that right?

Kisuke just laughed

* * *

I realized that I'm writing Isshin as rather unconcerned with the fact that he just let a monster into his house

just imagine that he's ready to strike at a moment's notice through the whole thing

couldn't really come up with a way to get that across that didn't seem needlessly intrusive to me

I nearly just skipped the whole thing, but that wasn't gonna work

anyway, I hope I'm doing at least a half-decent job of keeping everyone in character. Seras is kind of hard because of how much she changed over the course of that night while still staying basically the same kind and innocent young girl she always was, and striking that balance is proving difficult

I also just realized how much work I've given myself by changing things the way I have

but then I did that to myself, so I really have no right to complain

so yes

chapter one

done properly this time

now on to actually writing chapter 2 instead of obsessively editing what I already have

also: periods are the bane of my existence


	2. Chapter 2

alright, actual chapter 2 this time

by the way, I love the fact that people are favoriting and following this, but please, _please_ leave me reviews, it's only way I have to improve my writing

anyway, this is where things start to pick up a little bit

so without further ado, let's get to it

* * *

The first week in Karakura went well, apart from having to report her complete lack of progress to Integra every day. She may have sounded calm, but Seras knew her master's master well enough to tell that she was getting impatient. in more domestic concerns, she had started working nights at a convenience store across town. It wasn't as if she was being a burden on the Kurosaki household's food budget, but she decided that she'd rather not feel like a freeloader despite Isshin's protestations that she really didn't have to.

Speaking of Isshin, she was glad to see he hadn't changed at all, ambushing Ichigo in the halls, dive-bombing his bed at 4 a.m., and generally keeping his son on edge at all times. She was just glad he was smart enough not to try to sneak up on a sleeping vampire. She'd feel terrible if she accidentally killed him in her sleep.

The second week, on the other hand, had been _interesting..._

* * *

It had been a beautiful night, tugging at her instincts to just run wild and hunt, so here she was in the park soaking in the moonlight and trying to ignore that second bit. She was just starting to wonder if leaving her Harkonnen behind had been a mistake, snickering a bit at the thought of Isshin's expression when he saw her lugging a gun nearly twice her size.

Then she heard it

The telltale sounds of something trying sneak up on her.

She frowned, annoyed at herself for not noticing sooner and disdainful of the creature for daring to try to get the drop on a vampire. And so, she decided to teach it a bit of a lesson in manners

Finally, the creature came charging out of the trees with a roar. Seras elected to simply jump straight over it, twisting in the air to come down in a crouch.

The whatever-it-was was huge, nearly 8 feet tall and shaped somewhat like a vaguely humanoid dog. However, the detail that stuck out most in Seras' mind was the bone-white mask on it's face.

It roared again, spinning to face her, hair-like quills on it's back bristling. Well, if it was a fight it wanted, Seras was more than happy to oblige

She snarled right back at the creature, letting her left arm dissolve into a cluster of writhing shadowy tendrils

Ducking it's first wild swing, Seras raked at the things side with her shadows, but could tell she was only doing superficial damage at best, so she leaped onto it's back, intent on carving her way up to it's head.

Unfortunately, the creature seemed to sense what she was trying to do and rolled over on it's back trying to crush her.

Cursing, Seras barely managed to jump clear in time. This gave the monster the opportunity it needed to backhand her into a nearby tree hard enough to break it in two.

Standing up, and now _thoroughly_ enraged, Seras stalked towards the thing, which reared up and roared at her, seemingly in an attempt to make itself look bigger

all this did was expose it's throat to her

This was a mistake

Seras moved as though luanched from a cannon, striking the creature dead in the center of it's chest and knocking it over backwards, now lost in a haze of rage and bloodlust, Seras wasted no time latching onto it's throat with all the force of a bear trap.

Thick black blood pured down her throat as the creatures struggles weakened, trying to dislodge her to the very end

Seras had thought she understood what it meant to be a vampire when she had eaten Pip, but this? This was something entirely new. The feeling of raw power washing over her was like nothing she had ever felt.

Her shadows reached out and enveloped the creature as it dissolved into motes of light, absorbing every one.

* * *

That had been a week ago. She had immediately called Integra to inform her of her discovery and declare her mission complete. After all, the creature's blood had told her that it had been preying on human souls.

Of course, _then_ it turned out that there were _more_ of the damn things, so it looked like she was here more or less indefinitely.

Well, that was alright, there hadn't been any vampire attacks worth noting in England since Millennium had been destroyed. She would come home if Integra called for her, but she doubted that was going to happen any time soon. For now, this was her sole mission.

Apparently the thing was called a "Hollow", as she had learned when she had shown up on Isshin's doorstep, dripping with the blood of the last one she had killed and demanding answers.

Which was why she was currently sitting on a rooftop listening for the telltale cry of a Hollow

As near as Seras could figure from what Isshin had told her, these Hollow things were a sort of demon, souls that had lingered too long in the living world and been consumed by their anger and regret, eating the souls of others in a vain attempt to fill the emptiness within them

Truly pitiable creatures then, perhaps even more so than her own species

a roar echoed across the sky

well then

time to get to work

She leapt off the roof, reforming her left arm into a giant wing as she did.

It was odd, she had started noticing that her personality was starting to slowly shift towards her missing master's with every bit of blood she drank. Her control over her shadows was getting better too, so there was that at least.

In a few moments she was over the Hollow, dragging her out of her reverie.

This one was stalking a pair of teenagers

A pair of teenagers who seemed to neither see nor hear the giant misshapen monster bearing down on them

This struck Seras as odd, but then she had more pressing concerns

Like saving the poor idiots' lives

Dismissing her wing, she dropped out of the sky like a stone, impacting the monster's back like an artillery shell, already ripping and tearing with shadowy claws as she landed. the hollow screamed and reared back, trying to throw her off, but to no avail as simply ducked around the flailing claws, reaching out with tendrils of shadow and breaking it's arms as she went, and sank her fangs into it's throat

Raw power poured down her throat and her shadows grew and stretched in response, wrapping around both the hollow and herself, holding it down as she fed. Soon enough the creature stilled and broke into fragments of blue light, all of which were absorbed by her shadows. She sat there crouched for a moment longer, little more than a pair of glowing red eyes in a mass of living darkness. Seras wondered what her master would think if he could see her now. she'd come so far from the scared little police girl he had turned that night, and while she was still hesitant to hunt humans, it seemed that as long as she stayed here she wouldn't have to. Just one of these Hollow things could keep her fed for days.

the cry of another hollow pulled her back to reality. She considered letting it go, she'd just eaten after all, but then realized that the sound was coming from worryingly close to her new home.

a moment of cold fear swept through her, quickly replaced by rage

still largely just a mass of shadows, Seras took to the air once more

as she approached, she noticed that not only was the hollow close to her house, it was _directly across the street._

Seras was about to dive at this new threat when a small girl dressed all in black burst out of the door with a sword already raised to slash at the hollow.

Now _this_ was new. Seras wondered just what exactly the girl had been doing in her home and what she thought she was doing going up against a hollow with a _sword_

The girl was knocked back and the hollow reared up, giving Seras a view of it's other arm, revealing that it had Karin in it's grasp

Rage threatened to overtake her, but some instinct held her back, realizing that something important was about to happen

Ichigo chose this moment to appear in the doorway, instantly charging at the monster holding his sister with...

...

a broken chair leg

well, if nothing else, Seras would give him points for courage,

seeing this new challanger, the hollow turned and slashed at Ichigo

only to connect with the girl in black, who had seen what was about to happen and crossed the intervening distance faster than even _Seras_ could follow.

Seras was too far away to hear what they said to each other, but it culminated in the girl impaling Ichigo on her sword

one flash of light later, the girl was dressed in a simple white robe, while Ichigo was dressed in the odd black uniform the girl had been wearing, complete with an oversized sword, which he proceeded to remove the Hollow's arm with, freeing Karin. The hollow itself fell soon after.

two more howls, it seemed that massive burst of power had drawn some unwanted attention

Seras hit one at a dive even as Ichigo turned to face the other one, too focused on the fight to even notice her until the Hollow he was fighting was reduced to specks of light.

He stared at the mass of writhing shadows that made up Seras' form, taking an involuntary step backward when she detached herself from the rapidly fading hollow and turned to face him, as she pulled herself back into a more human shape.

Ichigo was just getting more confused, "Okay, does someone wanna tell me what's going on here?"

Seras sighed and opened her mouth to answer, only to be interrupted when the girl, still bleeding heavily, staggered over, "What are you waiting for you idiot? she's clearly some kind of Hollow! Attack!" she yelled, clearly in pain. Ichigo just looked back and forth between them, clearly still confused and getting annoyed.

"What? Like hell am I hollow!". Seras decided she didn't like this girl very much.

"then what _are_ you? And why do you look like my cousin?"

okay

that was it

"Ichigo?" she said sweetly, Ichigo looked wary

"Yes?" he answered

Seras turned and decked him

"that would be because I _am_ your cousin you moron! And I happen to be a _vampire_ , not a hollow!"

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock, and then rolled back into his head as he collapsed, whether from the blunt force trauma, the revelation, or both, was not immediately apparent.

Seras stared for a moment before turning to the other girl, incredulity written on her face. "did he just _faint_ _?_ "

the girl, for her part, looked just as surprised as Seras

"okay, you, start talking", the girl flinched, but seemed to find some inner resolve

"I'm not telling you anything, Hollow!" she snapped, Seras just rolled her eyes

"didn't I just get done saying that I'm not a Hollow? I'm a vampire dammit!"

the girl just snorted, "vampires are a myth!' she shot back, trying (and failing) to act brave in the face of the unknown. Seras just stared at her a while longer before a slow smile took over her face

"you know what? I don't actually need you to tell me anything do I? I can just take it", Seras stepped forward, grinning widely, fangs fully on display

the girl's eyes widened as she tried to backpedal, but she was far too slow. Seras pinned her to wall, carefully biting into her neck, the girl continued to struggle for a second before passing out from sheer terror. Seras had thought that Hollow blood was the most potent thing she would ever come across, but it was _nothing_ compared to this. Honestly, it was a good thing she had eaten not five minutes ago, otherwise she might have drained this girl, ah, Rukia, that was her name, dry. Images, memories, flashed before Seras' eyes, telling her all she needed to know about the girl and what she had done to Ichigo. However, before she had a chance to sort through those memories, a tap on her shoulder brought her focus back to the real world. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Kisuke Urahara, the shopkeeper Isshin had introduced her too after her first encounter with a hollow.

"Why hello there Seras!" he said, tone seemingly mild. Seras caught the implied command and obligingly released Rukia, licking the fang marks to help them heal. The girl, now thoroughly unconscious, slumped over her shoulder

"was there something you wanted? she asked drily, Kisuke beamed like a miniature sun

"Indeed there is! I must ask you to keep your promise to kill only Hollows miss Dracula"

Seras stared for a moment before shaking her head

"I never should have told you who my sire was"

"Nope!"

Seras just sighed, this night had gotten far too complicated for her taste

* * *

and there it is!

I even managed to figure out how to deal with my changes to the overarching plot

for now at least, there's a couple more places where it's gonna be relevant before I start breaking new ground

on another note, writing action has turned out to be a lot easier than I though it was gonna be, so that's good at least

okay then!

on to the next!


	3. Chapter 3

you know, I still have some eleven chapters left of stuff I'm just adapting, you'd think I could do this faster

and I haven't even gotten to the fun part yet

at least I'm starting to get a feel for my own writing style, which was half the point of this exercise anyway

anyway, on with the show

* * *

Ichigo slowly forced his eyes open and blinked at his room with some confusion. That had been one hell of a dream he'd had, weird monsters, bossy girls with swords, and his cousin as a vampire?

yeah

he'd have to figure out what had brought _that_ on and make sure he never did it ever again

"what exactly did I _do_ yesterday to end up with a dream like that?"

"I'm afraid that was no dream dear cousin"

Ichigo started, he hadn't seen Seras sitting on the end of his bed

smiling

with _lots_ of teeth

noticing Ichigo flinch involuntarily Seras sighed

"Ichigo, I've been here for a month and I haven't eaten you yet, why would I do it now?"

"well...yeah...but... " Ichigo's mind flailed wildly for a way out, what it found just made him panic _more_ "Oh shit! Karin! Yuzu! are they okay?"

Seras smiled warmly "They're fine, your dad is looking after them now, you can relax"

Ichigo looked relieved, but still somewhat distrustful

"oh for pity's sake I already told you I'm not going to eat you, stop looking at me like that"

"but...don't vampires basically eat humans?

Seras shook her head "well, normally yes, but for one I can count the number of humans I've drained to death on one hand, and they were all going to die anyway, and for another I can eat Hollows, so it's a moot point anyway"

"Hollows...is that what those monsters from last night are called? and I...actually killed one? I just remember getting stabbed, it all goes a bit...fuzzy after that"

"You didn't kill one..." said Seras, hiding a grin when Ichigo's face fell "you killed two!"

she accepted the pillow to the face as her just punishment, but never stopped smiling

* * *

Ichigo sat down on his bed that night after what felt like the longest day of his life. Which was saying something given what he'd been through last night

Rukia turning up at his school would have been bad enough, but then she had proceeded to inform him that he was now a "substitute Soul Reaper", and had impressed the duties the office held on him in the most direct manner possible.

He had to admit that Rukia was right that he couldn't just save only the spirits he saw and ignore everything else, but it was still a pretty big responsibility for a high schooler you know?

But still, if he had the power to protect someone, there was no way in hell he wasn't going to do just that

and oh yeah, apparently heaven was a real place

so there was that too

"Bad day?" asked Seras, startling him out of his reverie, "you want my advice? Take a nap. It'll make more sense in the morning"

Ichigo gave her a look

"do you have _any_ idea what I've just gotten myself into?"

"as a matter of fact I do" she replied, looking immensely pleased with herself

"what? how?"

"I'm a vampire remember? when I drink a person's blood I get their memories, everything that makes them who they are. I caught Rukia before she could escape and fed from her a bit. It was a lot easier than trying to interrogate her. Point is, yes, I _do_ know what you've gotten yourself into, probably a lot better than _you_ do"

"wait, what does _that_ mean?"

Seras looked distant for a moment "I'm not entirely sure, just that there's a _lot_ she isn't telling you. Just...go with it for now and I'll see what I can put together"

"didn't you just say you had her memories though?" Ichigo was beginning to run low on patience

"look Ichigo, getting someones memories is like being handed a box full of unmarked photographs and being told to put them in chronological order, it's going to take me a while to sort out what's important and what isn't. I really don't have much experience with this"

Seras noticed the distress writ plainly on Ichigo's features and relented

"In any case, I'll do whatever I can to help but I'm not going out during the day except for dire emergencies, okay?"

and then a thought struck

"you know, you've gotten used to the idea of me being a vampire pretty quickly"

Ichigo's wary look told her that bringing that up had probably been a mistake

but then wariness turned to curiosity

"so...uh...how did you...you know..."

"die?" Seras provided

Ichigo winced, then nodded

Seras settled back and gazed into space for a bit before finally starting

"it was a little over a year ago. I was sent with the rest of my unit to a village called Cheddar. Oh right, I forgot to mention that I was a police officer didn't I? Well anyway, we'd had reports of disappearances for months, so my unit was sent in expecting a crime ring of some sort. What we got was zombies. Turns out a vampire had taken up residence in the town posing as a priest and by the time we got there the entire town had been turned into his were slaughtered. I was the only one left when the vampire himself caught me, he was just describing to me, in detail, how he was going to rape me before eating me so I'd just become one of his ghouls. Then Alucard showed up. Well, I call him Alucard because that's the name I first heard him called by, but you'd probably know him better as Vlad Dracul"

needless to say, this caught Ichigo's attention

"wait, you mean _dracula!?_ "

"the very same, now if you'll let me finish?"

"er, sorry, go ahead"

"thank you, now, the vampire priest attempted to use me as hostage, a bargaining chip, and a meat shield all at the same time. As I said, by this point I was the only survivor, and the vampire priest tried to use me to get Alucard to let him go, holding me in front of him the whole time. Instead Alucard told me that he planned to shoot through me to get to the priest, but that he could turn me and take me with him. I accepted"

"and that" said Seras with a bit of a flourish "is the story of how I died"

Seras smiled at Ichigo for a bit before glancing towards his closet

"if you found the story so fascinating, why don't you come out Rukia?"

Ichigo looked confused

"what are you..."

the closet door snapped open, revealing one de-powered shinigami wearing an expression somewhere between profound confusion and abject terror

"what the hell?" Ichigo yelled, jumping off his bed "what are you doing in there?!"

any response that may have been forthcoming was cut off by Rukia's phone ringing

Rukia flipped it open and studied it for a second before her eyes widened in shock. two seconds later she had produced a fingerless glove with some kind of flaming skull decal and simply shoved Ichigo with it

Ichigo, for his part, cried out in confusion as his body went one way while his soul went another

just in time for a clawed arm to break through the wall where he had been standing not moments before and knocked Seras clear through the opposite wall

Ichigo needed no prompting to draw his sword

"aim for the mask!" yelled Rukia as he was sent sprawling from a badly-timed block

Ichigo was back on his feet immediately, and this time actually managed to land a glancing blow on the Hollow's mask

which cracked

revealing the human face lying beneath

The hollow screamed in pain and decided that discretion was the better part of valor, disappearing into a shadowy portal of some kind

Ichigo was still standing there frozen, the face he had just seen filling his mind

Rukia looked on and sighed, she didn't have time for this

"come on, we need to go find that Hollow!"

this at least managed to snap Ichigo back to reality

"what the hell? that was Orihime's brother!"

Rukia winced, this was worse than she'd thought

"I'll just say this: Attack from behind and kill with one strike, this is the most basic rule there is for fighting Hollows. Never forget it"

Ichigo had never heard Rukia sound quite so solemn

"but why?"

"for one, it reduces casualties, but more importantly, that way you never have to see the hollow's identity"

"what do you mean _identity?_ " asked ichigo, though he had a sinking feeling he already knew

"you saw it didn't you? Hollows...were all originally human souls"

Ichigo's eyes hardened

"you never told me that! He's not a monster?"

"a monster is all that's left of him now" Rukia replied evenly

"but he used to be human!"

Rukia shook her head

"be it anger or sadness, the souls of those who still have an attachment to this world tend to refuse burial by us Soul Reapers, and so are left to wander the world. Over time, whether they want it or not, they become Hollows. It is our job to kill them before they can hurt others" she said quietly "now let's go, and hope he hasn't done any more damage"

* * *

Seras cursed as she phased her way through the house. Undead or not, getting punched through a building _hurt_

she was just getting ready to run out the door when Isshin all but materialized at her side, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and simply lifted her off her feet.

Seras aimed her best glare at him, but he just shook his head

"he has to learn to fight his own battles Seras, you can't always be there to save him"

it should be noted that even as he said this, he looked uncomfortable, and when a resounding crash echoed through the house even he was barely restraining the urge to rush over and help

"I will _not_ let some damned Hollow hurt Ichigo!" she snarled as she twisted in his grip, expecting him to be overcome by her inhuman strenght

imagine her surprise when his grip only got _tighter_

"how the hell?"

"Seras, neither I nor my children are human, even if they don't know it yet, I would've expected you to have figured that out by now" he said drily

Seras just blinked at him in confusion

"clearly your observational skills need work"

"what? you're normal enough, and the only weird thing about your kids is that they can see ghosts!"

another attempt at breaking Isshin's grip ended in miserable failure

"that's because _they're_ still alive, and _I_ know how to hide" he answered brightly

"then...what are you?"

"now _that_ I'm afraid must remain secret at least a little while longer. Now, I think it's been long enough, go make sure nothing too terrible has happened to Ichigo"

"Yes sir" Seras nodded, choosing for the moment to ignore the fact that she might not be the strangest thing in her family after all

instead, she disappeared through the wall, chasing her trouble magnet of a cousin

* * *

before anyone asks, yes I did swap in the version of Seras' turning from the T.V. anime, because I like that it makes it clear that it actually _was_ her choice. I also decided to expand that part out a bit from the original, you know, given that expanding on things is one of the things I need to work on most.

I'm still trying to keep this more or less in line with the original, but I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable making changes and turning this into something more my own.

I'm also debating adding chapter titles, but can't decide how to go about it

anyway, let me know what you think, I am _desperate_ for feedback


	4. Chapter 4

apologies for the delay, this chapter is kind of all over the place in the original. It skips ahead two weeks, barely mentions Kon, and the only reference to Shrieker is a note about summoning the gates of Hell.

I've done what I can to defragment this and fill it out a bit, but there's only so much I can do.

things are going to pick up soon, but I've still got to get through this and a little more fluff before we get there

also: since Quetzelcoatls only _started_ the fight with Sora but never finished it, I am taking it upon myself to adapt the conclusion of that fight

this will be the first time in this story that I'm not working from pre-made material, so I'm a bit nervous about how I did.

and before I forget, many thanks to DeathFrown for beta reading this for me even though neither of us is entirely sure how that process is supposed to work (fairly sure it doesn't involve sending entire chapters over PM though).

on a final note, this is officially the longest thing I have ever written, coming in at nearly 3,500 words. I'm rather proud of myself actually

* * *

Orihime Inoue had been having a nice night. She'd had her best friend Tatsuki over and was proudly showing off her latest culinary creation, some concoction of red bean paste, butter and bananas.

So then, how was it that she was currently getting lectured by some weird snake monster about how lonely it felt, while Tatsuki lay unconscious in a corner?

She supposed she should have been more worried when her favorite teddy bear spontaneously developed a rip, but how was she supposed to know that that was just the lead-up to having her soul forcibly ejected from her body?

As it was, she was pinned to the wall by an increasingly irate snake monster that seemed convinced that she should recognize it.

Finally, it seemed to have had enough and reared back to spear her with its claws.

Orihime shut her eyes tightly, her hands coming up to protect herself but she knows this might be the end.

Then, when the end failed to come, she opened her eyes to see... Ichigo Kurosaki? But, where did he come from and what was that he was wearing? And where on earth did he get that gigantic sword?

It was at this point that Orihime's overtaxed mind threw in the towel and the girl collapsed .

* * *

Seras arrives just in time to see a girl with auburn hair throw herself between Ichigo and the Hollow he'd been chasing. Against all logic, the Hollow stopped just short, it's teeth looming over her flesh. _Ah! This must be that Orihime girl Ichigo had mentioned._ Seras took advantage of the lull to rush over to where Ichigo was lying on the ground and help him up. "Let me guess," She said, "You hesitated, didn't you?", She'd seen his face when he'd chipped the mask before, it didn't take a genius to figure out what had gone wrong.

"Er..." Ichigo had the decency to look guilty about it at least. Seras sighed, "Well it's not as if I have room to criticize." _At least your hesitance didn't lead to multiple casualties._ Though Pip had long since forgiven her, she couldn't help but still feel that if she'd managed to get over her trepidation and drank blood sooner, that he and the rest of the Wild Geese would still be alive. But this was no time to be reminiscing.

Orihime, still locked in the Hollow's jaws had begun...hugging it? It was apparent she'd figured out who it was behind the mask and was working on breaking through to him, and given the way the Hollow's mask was warping and cracking, it seemed to be working. Finally, the mask shattered entirely. Orihime fought back tears as she looked at a face she never thought she'd see again.

"Sora!" Orihime cried.

"You've grown so much Orihime, I can see now that it's time for me to let go and move on, you don't need me to watch over you any more." He said as he went to pick up Ichigo's fallen sword, "I don't have much time before I lose myself again, _please_ , let me do this, I don't want to hurt anyone else."

It's all Orihime can do to nod through her tears.

"Thank you." He smiles, then plunges the blade through his chest and into his heart, and even as he is disappearing into motes of light, the smile never falters.

"Come on Ichigo" says Seras, grabbing the boy and simply hauling him over her shoulder "Let's go home."

"Put me down dammit!"

"no"

* * *

The next weeks went by largely without incident, unless you count Ichigo getting his body hijacked by a Mod Soul and having to chase the stupid thing down. Said Mod Soul had been subsequently stuffed into a plush lion and named "Kon". While Seras would have loved to help out, she was still sort of happy she'd been asleep for that one, given the damned things tendency to try and bury itself in her cleavage, she was thinking about showing it a hint of her true form if it didn't give it up soon.

And then one of Ichigo's friends had found a possessed parakeet.

Turns out that a Hollow had stuck a young boy's soul into the bird's body after killing his mother, and using him as bait was preying on those who attempted to come to his aid.

Seras had once again been asleep for the final confrontation with the Hollow, but from what Ichigo had told her of the incident, the Hollow had gone after Rukia, who had managed to hold out long enough for Ichigo to get involved. The worst part, and the part that made her glad she hadn't been there, was that when the Hollow had finally been defeated, the gates of Hell itself had appeared to claim it. It was one thing to know on an abstract level that she was damned by virtue of what she was. It was another thing entirely to know without a doubt that Hell was a real place and that she would be sent there should she ever truly die.

In the meantime she'd been sorting through Rukia's memories, with assistance from Pip of course, the familiar was well versed in dealing with that sort of thing now, and now she had found something rather interesting.

Something she believed Ichigo needed to know, something about his sword, and how it really wasn't a sword at all.

* * *

Ichigo was leaning heavily on his sword, he'd just finished off his third Hollow that day, it seemed the bastards were out in force. He looked up to see that the sun beginning to set. Good, that meant Seras would be there to back him up soon. Rukia had never quite gotten over being bitten and was still not convinced that Seras wasn't a threat [to all and sundry]. Ichigo thought the Soul Reaper was just being paranoid, sure Seras was (a Vampire) dangerous, but she (hadn't touched a human's blood yet other than her own and hadn't done anything bad other than that) wasn't going to go on a rampage anytime soon given how well she was eating. Though on the other hand, Seras had sat Ichigo down a few days after he'd discovered she was a vampire and laid out in no uncertain terms that even if she was one of the nice ones, she was still a monster by definition, and that he was not to hesitate to put her down should she ever lose herself in a frenzy.

Rukia's impression of Seras was not improved by the fact that the vampire in question had taken to teasing the Shinigami about having been her food, just thinking about it brought a smile to Ichigo's face, it was his firm belief that Rukia could stand to loosen up a bit as well.

"Well, that seems to be all of them for now" said Rukia, snapping her Soul Pager shut. She turned to Ichigo, only to see that the boy had already run off, two blocks away and still accelerating. The Shinigami just sighed and shook her head, she'd have to work on that impulsive nature of his, but for now there was no harm in letting him go, he'd earned a rest.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ichigo was touching on top of a parking garage near the waterfront, no better place to watch the sun set from. A few minutes after darkness fell; a whisper of displaced air announced the arrival of a winged shadow, which quickly took form of a young pale skinned girl and Seras stood beside him. She sat down next to Ichigo without a word, looking out over the lights of the city. "It's a beautiful night." she finally said. Ichigo nodded, this was one of the best parts of being a substitute shinigami: sitting out on a moonlit night, invisible to all but the most spiritually sensitive people, waiting for Hollows to strike. It really brought home the idea the reality that he had become something other than human, a god of death, even if only as a substitute. It honestly made him wish that he could fly the way Seras could, he sighed, gazing up at the crescent moon. "What's wrong?" Seras asks, glancing over.

" Just wishing I could fly like you."

"Ichigo, I've seen you stand in midair"

"Yeah, but it's not the same, I don't have the freedom you do, I can't experience the night the way you can. I'm honestly a bit jealous."

"I suppose you have a point, anyway, I need to talk to you about something." As she says this, Seras turns serious, eliciting a wary look from Ichigo.

"That doesn't sound good."

"It's nothing too awful, just something I think you should know." (Ichigo's guard falls a bit, turning to curiosity as he waits for her to continue.) Ichigo's wariness turns to curiousity.

"And that would be...?" He prods.

"It's something I picked up (while I was) from sorting through Rukia's memories. Have you ever wondered where that sword on your back comes from?"

Ichigo was taken aback, "No... I never did", he answered somewhat sheepishly.

"Okay, the simplest way I can think of to-." Her whispers are lost in the wind as she tells him what she thinks.

Ichigo blinked, "Huh?" Seras smiled and nodded, understanding his confusion.

"A Shinigami's Zanpakuto is more than just a piece of metal, it's...how do I put this...Well, it's a part of your soul, but with a will of its own."

Ichigo stared at Seras for a few seconds, "But if that's true, why didn't Rukia say anything? He asked, now more confused than ever. He got up and seemed ready to ask Rukia herself.

"Maybe she didn't think it was necessary, or maybe she was going to tell you later, but what's important is that I'm telling you now, so pay attention!" Ichigo's mouth clamped shut and he nodded. As Seras took a tone of authority, the same one she used when addressing recruits back at Hellsing.

"Okay, what you need to do is work on listening to your sword and learning its name, this will make you and your sword much stronger." As Seras continued, he stayed and listened, getting more and more bewildered.

"But...How the hell do I do that?" Ichigo was worried if Seras was alright, listening to a sword? None of this was making sense.

"I was getting there, don't interrupt! The answer is meditation, just relax and try not to think of anything, just...listen. Anyway, I need to go hunting. I'll keep sorting through Rukia's memories, meanwhile, just stay out of trouble, okay?" Seras smiled as Ichigo nodded, frowning at his sword, perplexed about how he was supposed to 'listen' to it. This was major news, and had the potential to change everything. Ichigo watched as Seras soared away into the darkness and then sat down to give this "meditation" thing a try; it wasn't exactly as if he had anything better to do.

Ichigo spent the next two hours deep in thought. It wasn't until three hours in that he noticed anything, but he was at least certain now that Seras wasn't delusional. There were faint emotions there, separate and distinct from his own, even if they were faint at the moment. Well, at least it was progress, and his sword seemed to agree if the sense of relieved amusement was anything to go by.

A distant screech caught his attention, and he stood up to try to determine where it had come from, launching himself off the roof in what he judged to be the right direction a moment later. Meanwhile, in Ichigo's inner world, an old man in a black cloak smiled faintly, he'd make sure to thank that Vampire later. Who knows how long it would have taken to get through his thick-headed Shinigami if she hadn't stepped in

* * *

Three days later, Seras was having trouble sleeping. She could tell that something was happening at the graveyard across town and it was playing merry hell with her sleep schedule. It was almost midday dammit, vampires were simply not meant to be up at this hour. A faint tracery of silver lines pulsed on her shoulder, pulling her yet further out of her slumber. Finally giving in, Seras pushed open the lid of her coffin and glared at the dim light coming through the shades. At least it seemed the clouds had taken over the sky, that would at least ease the discomfort.

then she felt it.

A massive surge of power that nearly knocked her off her feet

Seras' head snapped instantly to the west, towards the wave's point of origin. It had felt distinctly like Ichigo, but far angrier than she had ever known him to be. Without any further delay, she ran to the window and jumped out, running at top speed over the rooftops, not having the benefit of being invisible to most humans meant that flying was out of the question, but then it wasn't as if she couldn't maintain a top speed that would make Olympic sprinters jealous without ever getting tired, being dead had some advantages after all.

On the other side of town, Ichigo was getting frustrated, this Hollow simply would not stop taunting him about his dead mother and he was mere inches from snapping completely. Black energy swirled around his zanpakuto, responding to his anger. Ichigo flashed forward, cutting through spines and leaving a deep gouge in its side with his slash. The Hollow screeched in pain and leapt away, launching spikes at Ichigo as it went. Ichigo snapped his zanpakuto up to block, the black energy vaporizing the spines as they got close. Sensing an opening, Ichigo charged forward and managed to take the Hollow's arm leaving it to reel in pain.

Ichigo ducked under the retaliatory swipe of its remaining arm, the momentum of which left the Hollow off-balance. Seeing this as another opening, Ichigo slashed at its back, but the Hollow spun around far faster than he would have thought possible and swatted him into a tree. Ichigo's vision went blurry for a second as the pain threatened to knock him out, that last swipe had also left serious gashes in his side and he was bleeding badly. Ichigo groaned, fighting his way through the pain stood up unsteadily, only to have to jump out of the way of another attack. " _Ha! Did you really think you could beat me?_ " the hollow taunted, seemingly unfazed by the loss of an arm, Ichigo just glared at it before heaving his Zanpakuto back up.

And then the unthinkable happened.

Ichigo stared as the Hollow that had been giving him so much trouble was bowled over by a small black blur. The hollow managed to throw said blur off, at which point the blur resolved itself into the form of one Seras Victoria. Ichigo was at a loss, it was midday! Shouldn't she still be asleep!? A scream of pain from the hollow shook him out of his daze, he'd never really seen Seras fight before and the sight was...unnerving, even the Hollow seemed taken aback at her ferocity. Seras simmered, poised to strike, her red eyes glowing. The shadows around her writhed suddenly coming to life and flew like spears at the hollow), tearing at the Hollow from the sides, hoping to restrict it's movement. she dived in a second time to try and skewer the hollow with her hand only for it to dodge narrowly as a deep incision formed on its side. " _What are you and how dare you interfere with my hunt!?_ " Seras stared for a second before a lopsided, and very pointy, grin spread over her face. "Your hunt?" she taunted , "This boy is under my protection and I won't let you have him!"

Suiting word to deed, Seras leapt at the Hollow again, it tried to duck, but badly misjudged the reach of her shadow arm, which caught the edge of its mask. She twisted, using the mask as leverage to sink her fangs into its throat. The Hollow thrashed about and howled, trying, and failing, to rip Seras off of itself with its remaining arm. Ichigo watched wearily as the Hollow that had taken his mother's life dissolved into tiny motes of light that were absorbed by Seras' shadow.

Seras hit the ground in a perfect three-point landing, having recovered in the air. Still, she resolved to never kill a Hollow while hanging from its head again, dropping from ten feet up might not hurt her, but that didn't mean it was pleasant. She takes a moment to compose herself, she hadn't lost control of herself since the day the Hellsing manor was attacked and she would be damned if she ever let it happen again. Her shadows slowly shrank back into her body as she calmed down.

"Seras?" Ichigo looked over warily, his hands tightening over his Zanpakuto.

"It's okay, I'm fine now." She didn't blame him really, the boy had never seen a vampire fight [all-out]before, it had to have looked pretty bad.

Ichigo relaxed, finally letting his Zanpakuto sink to the ground as his grip slacks , "Thanks by the way."

"For what? I was just doing my job"

"That was the Hollow that killed my mother, in all honesty I'd rather have killed him myself, but you're family, so I suppose I can be happy with that."

Seras looked back at the spot where the hollow had been, memories of her own childhood flashing through her mind, "I think I know what you mean".

* * *

I cut off the final segment because it was a terrible cliffhanger that makes much more sense to put at the beginning of the next chapter

anyway, I looked ahead and it seems like it's going to be another two or three chapters before I can bring Pip in properly

this next chapter largely exists just to bring in a plot point that I'm not using, and it focuses around a character I hate, but it does also move bits of the plot forward, so I'm stuck writing it anyway

also: I'm working on trying to get into Seras' head a little more, let me know if it's working alright?

also of note, DeathFrown has said they're going to go through my previous chapters too, so expect changes to them at some point. I'll let you know more when I know more


	5. an announcement

I am hereby officially abandoning my efforts on chapter 5. I honestly hate the episode it's based on, it's been fighting me for months, it was stupidly short, and it doesn't add anything I couldn't add somewhere else.

I've been reading a _lot_ lately, and I've realized a few things about how I've been writing this story, and they're not good. This was really just going to be a standard retread of canon except with added vampire, there were some storytelling decisions made that I thought were weird, and I went and followed the same path anyway. It's time I lived up to the summary and changed things dramatically.

so yes, I'm gonna start working on what _was_ chapter six now. This is where everything changed in the original story, but I have decided that the way they changed was stupid and I'm not going to do that, so I have to come up with my own thing

what this means for you is a rather long wait because, as I may have said before, _I have no idea what I'm doing,_ so figuring out where I want to go from here is gonna take a while, and then actually _writing_ it is gonna take longer.

This ain't dead yet folks, it's just going on the back burner while I work on the things that are actually my own ideas


	6. announcement part two

alright, it's official

I've decided to scrap this and start over

I slowly realized that despite my promise to modify basically everything about this story, I was still doing little more than copying and pasting the original work with minor edits

so yes

I'm starting over, and this time it's actually going to be _my_ story, one that doesn't just stick to the stations of Bleach canon, and doesn't give Seras shinigami powers and doesn't decide that vampires are a form of Hollow

because that's silly

I still have no idea what I want this story to actually _be_ , but I'm gonna try and maybe mix the settings a little better this time around. there's a lot of decisions I have to make, so don't expect anything for several months at least, but I _am_ going to make an effort to actually plan this out a bit and then probably just delete this whole story and replace it with a shiny new one

wish me luck


End file.
